Mafia Obsession

Leo

The deafening claps of gun shots fills the cavernous warehouse building. This is exactly what I feared might happen, but what I expected. Adrenaline floods through myUpstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g

veins as I draw my gun, glancing over at Kane. He gives me a short nod with his gun in his hands.

The goggles we wear protect us from the stinging smoke and help us see through it. My instincts were on point about tonight-this will be a bloodbath. We move together side by side, edging into the warehouse. These idiots are shooting their guns without knowing where the fuck we are.

The silhouette of a guy heading toward us catches my attention, and I aim for his gun arm. The bullet meets its mark, and the guy crumples to the floor, crying out in pain. I dodge a wayward bullet of one man waiting for us.

Kane shoots another guy to our left in the nick of time, just as he was about to notice us. The risk to my life doesn’t matter, but if I get hit, I can’t save Ellie. She is all that matters to me. The smoke screen is giving us the element of surprise, but it’s delaying us too. I can’t even see Ellie anymore, despite the googles making it easier to see.

I’m so desperate I lost my head over this. For the first time in my life, I’ve walked myself and my brother into a fucking death trap. Ellie was the bait being dangled in front of me, and like an idiot, I took it. I can’t let myself think about who set me up or why right now. My mind is focused on one thing, right now-getting the three of us out of here in one fucking piece.

I know she’s sitting in the center of this room. I fix her position in my mind as I move forward. It grates on me I can’t see her through all this fucking smoke. Kane’s bright idea.

Although, it was the only idea either of us could come up with. The adrenaline rush makes my heart pound fast. The thick smoke swirls around us as we press on, almost bashing straight into an armed guy. Kane catches on, shooting his kneecap out from under him. The aim here is to get Ellie and get out-no killing.

We’re on a rival mob’s territory and killing people here will only escalate tension. I intend to make Ellie’s ex-boyfriend suffer as much as I can, but I get a feeling that chance won’t come to me today.

The guy Kane shot falls to the floor, wailing and clutching his busted knee. I step around him, kicking his gun out of reach. This really is life or death-an attempt to wipe us out in a devised and planned attack on the Romano family.

Kane moves by my side, shooting down people with a brutal, fast precision. He’s the best marksman I know. He shoots the next guy a little higher than he should on his chest. I hope to high hell it’s not Ellie’s ex as the guy he just shot could die from that wound, and he can’t get away that easily.

Ellie comes into my view as the smoke clears, forcing me to walk quicker toward her. I can’t slow down as she is my sole focus, my sole goal. Two long, torturous months not seeing the woman I inexplicably fell for. Now, she’s only a few feet away from me.

A nearby gunshot rings out and a bullet misses me by inches, forcing me to a sudden stop. This situation has become too dangerous. Ellie is trapped to a chair, unable to move out of the way of any wayward gunshots. She’s at risk of being caught in the escalating cross-fire. We may have had no other option, but I’m regretting this plan already.

The sight of a man I recognize with his gun pointed at right at Ellie’s head makes me freeze. He’s ridiculously tall, and I try to remember where I’ve seen him before. The guy can’t see as he’s squinting, but I see his finger pull down on the trigger, sending my heart into a fast-paced gallop.

He aims the gun right at her head-my woman’s head. The bullet flies toward a clueless Ellie. Her back turned to it. It feels like time turns to a crawl as I lunge toward her. There’s a deep desperation inside of me to stop that bullet, forcing me through the air.

I clash with Ellie, sending the chair clashing to the floor with her on it. She makes a muffled sound as her body hits the hard, concrete floor. A spray of blood coats my face and clothes, sending me into a frenzied panic. I search her body for the gunshot wound, finding no evidence of harm.

Her eyes meet mine wide and then she looks down at my arm. It’s only at that point that I realize I’ve been shot in the arm. The pain blocked by the adrenaline coursing through my veins. It doesn’t fucking matter anyway- she’s all that matters. It will hurt like a bitch when the rush wears off, but I’ll live.

Ellie tries to speak, struggling against the tight gag in her mouth. I let my fingers word, undoing the knot at the back of her head. She gasps a deep breath and then speaks, “You’ve been shot.”

I shake my head. “I can hardly feel it, but we need to get the hell out of here,” I mutter into her ear, using my good arm to grab the cold, jagged metal strapped to my calf. Ellie is lashed to the chair, forcing me to cut off the ropes tying her.

Once they’re cut, I feel rage flood me. The tight ropes have opened older, infected wounds. The blood is dripping down her arms. I clench my jaw, trying not to think about what she endured while in their capture. I know if I think about it, I won’t be able to leave here without killing every fucking asshole here.

“Who did this to you?” I ask, letting a finger trace one gash.

Her eyes meet mine and she shakes her head. “It doesn’t matter right now. We need to get out of here.”

I wince as I move to my hands and knees. “Can you crawl?” She nods her head. “I can, but you can’t with that arm.”

“Let me worry about my arm.” I keep my voice calm, despite feeling more out of control than I’ve ever felt. Nothing has ever been so dangerous. I’ve had nothing so precious to lose as Ellie before. We’ve only just been reunited, and I can’t let us be parted ever again. “Follow me,” I say, giving her a stern stare.

She glances at me, before bowing her head in submission, accepting my wish. If we weren’t in such danger I’d be reveling in this moment. The moment we move, bullets ricochet off the metal structure and walls around us. The smokes effectiveness reducing by every second, making this place even more a minefield.

Kane drops to his knees by my side. “Leo, you are hit. Is it bad?” he asks.

“I’ll live,” I say, feeling the pain of the wound more now.

His eyes go to Ellie and he gives her a nod. “We need to get the fuck out of here as fast as possible.”

“No shit Sherlock,” I say, noticing the smoke is almost all gone now.

We’re targets, waiting to be shot.

Kane crawls toward the exit, keeping his head low. I freeze as a bullet hits the floor, missing Ellie’s head. My hands are on her before I can explain, pulling her to her feet in one quick move. “The smoke isn’t working, so we need to make a run for it.”

Kane jumps to his feet, turning his back toward us. “I’ll cover you.” He lets off three rounds, shooting three men to the floor with faultless precision. I hesitate for only a second, before I pull Ellie into a run by my side.

Our feet pound against the concrete as we rush toward the exit. I keep my hand tight around hers, vowing I won’t let go of her-no matter what happens. Since the smoke has cleared, the cuts and bruises all over Ellie’s face are clearer and it makes me crazy. Not to mention, those cuts on her wrists. I can’t allow myself to think about what she endured in their captivity.

I can’t stop thinking about her ex-boyfriend, wondering if he’s been shot already. If he’s still alive, then I won’t rest until I get my hands on him another day. No matter how desperate I am to kill him, jeopardizing our lives just for revenge is something I won’t do, even if they put me and my woman through hell.

Kane is slowing down the oncoming men, who seem to be unending.

How many men did they station here for us?

He shoots one more guy just as we reach the exit of the main warehouse room. Kane turns and dashes for the exit with us. “Fast as you can,” he shouts, forcing us to sprint even harder and faster.

Ellie is quick, keeping a foot ahead of me the whole fucking way. I’m not sure why I expected any different-she’s a tough fighter. Despite the pain she’s in, as she winces with every step she takes.

The bright light of day is floods through the open door ahead of us, paving the way to freedom. Kane’s keeping our chasers at bay, setting off two more rounds. The shouts and screams of men behind us fills the empty, echoing space.

The three of us rush through the exit and set feet into the parking lot, dashing for the SUV. Kane makes it there first, unlocking the car and sliding into the driver’s seat. We make it to the back doors, diving inside as fast as we can. He revs the engine and pulls out of the parking lot at speed, foot flat to the fucking floor.

Gunshots ring out and bullets hit the armored body of our SUV. Ellie sighs a breath of relief, and she no doubt think it’s all over-it’s not. I don’t have the heart to tell her the truth. We have at least an eight-hour drive through enemy territory, before we can pass into land we run-Oklahoma.

It’s unspoken between me and my brother, but as he speeds at over ninety in a thirty, he knows all too well. There’s no slowing down for anything until we’re out of danger.

We made it out of the warehouse, but this is the start of a long and nervy journey through back roads. It’s still not clear if those guys are affiliated with the Juliano mob, but it seems likely that they are behind all of this.

First, they sell into our territory, and then they try to wipe out two Romano family members. They’re after war, and it’s exactly what they’ll get.